Dr. Alessandro Fichera, a prominent colorectal surgeon, has been named chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, effective Oct. 14.

A common mutation in the KRAS gene is associated with improved overall survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) compared with other variants, in part because the mutation appears to lead to less invasiveness and weaker biological activity, according to a multicenter study conducted at Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and other institutions.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine have received the Emergency Medicine Wellness Center of Excellence Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians for their commitment to the personal wellness and resilience of its emergency medicine department staff.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have found that immunocompromised patients fighting persistent COVID-19 infections can harbor drug-resistant variants of SARS-CoV-2, which have the potential to spread to the general population.

A multi-institutional clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators showed that a newer technique for collecting prostate biopsy samples reduced the risk of infection compared with traditional biopsy approaches.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Dalio Center for Health Justice announced the launch of the Sickle Cell Awareness Ball campaign, introducing a special-edition basketball designed with one crescent-shaped red panel to represent a sickle cell and stand out against minimalist black panels.

Dr. Lewis Silverman has been appointed director of the Hope and Heroes Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian found that a self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app, called Maya, significantly reduced anxiety in young adults struggling with mental health challenges.